This invention relates to the field of hair styling apparatus and more particularly to a hair styling device for producing straight hair when used with an external hair blow dryer.
Traditionally, appliances in the field of hair styling are directed toward producing a wavy or curly hair configuration as dictated by popular styles. More recently, the desired feminine glamour look includes short to medium length hair completely straight from the scalp to the end of the hair strands. It is however a challenge for those with naturally curly hair to achieve such a straight style.
It is known that wet hair that it is heated generally retains the configuration it had during the heating process. Various methods of drying wet hair to achieve a straight style have been attempted with limited success. It is known to blow dry wet, curly hair using a large, round brush, a brush that contains bristles around the entire brush barrel. To use such a brush, the hair is engaged in one radial plane of the brush bristles and the ends of the hair strands are engaged by an adjacent plane of the brush, that is, the hair is very slightly wound around the brush, in order to secure the hair and provide a slight degree of tension to straighten the wet hair while external heat is applied. The drawbacks of this method are that the hair generally contains a slight curl at the ends, and the hair, especially near the scalp, is often unintentionally wound around the bristles of the brush in such a manner that the brush cannot be disengaged from the hair. The brush may become disengaged from the hair by repeated pulling or twisting of the brush to disengage the hair strands.
It is also known to provide an electrically powered straightening iron in which a large amount of hair can be grasped. Such devices are however damaging to the hair strands because the hair is in direct contact with electrical elements which causes hair to break. Additionally, such devices generally provide optimal straightening when the hair is dry or nearly dry. Accordingly, a user must wait while the hair naturally dries or by blow drying the hair which adds time to the total styling process. Only then can such devices be used effectively.
Other known methods of straightening curly hair include using devices resembling clips that contain heating elements. Here hair is engaged by spring pressure between two elongated clips and heated. Upon removal of the clips, the hair is straight where contact was made. Some such devices are only intended for use at the scalp to straighten or provide lift to the hair and this configuration is not suitable for straightening the entire hair strand. Because wet hair is more fragile than dry hair, the drawbacks of this method include hair damage caused by direct contact with heating elements. Another drawback is the requirement to heat the clip by either inserting it in a separate heating element or connecting it into an electrical power source. The requirement to heat the clip adds time to the total hair styling process.
The present invention straightens wet, curly hair when used with a conventional blow dryer while overcoming the limits of prior devices and methods. The present invention eliminates the time consuming step of drying or nearly drying the hair before using a hair straightening device and device preheating, thereby minimizing total styling time. The present invention has the capability to straighten curly hair the entire length of the hair strand, eliminates any possibility of hair entanglement, minimizes heat damage to hair, uses an existing source of heat energy, is small and lightweight and is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.